SCUDO Project: A Year of Progress Towards Resilient Transport Systems in Europe

• SCUDO project successfully completed its first year, marking key progress in strengthening the resilience and safety of Europe’s transport systems.

• Major technical foundations were delivered, including a comprehensive literature review and status-quo mapping, developing a Standardised Impact Evaluation Framework (SIEF), carrying out data collection and manipulation, and developing the initial version of the sensing and monitoring solutions. In parallel, a detailed set of specifications was defined to support the development and validation of the Pan European Platform.

04.08.2026 – SCUDO – Safe And Comprehensive Urban Development And Transport Management For Disruption-Resilient Operations -, a research and innovation action aimed at enhancing the resilience and safety of Europe’s transport systems, has successfully completed its first year of implementation with substantial achievements.

With an investment of €3.5 million from Horizon Europe, the European Union’s flagship funding programme for research and innovation, the SCUDO project aims to identify and classify disruptive scenarios, assess their impact on various socio-economic groups, and improve the monitoring, forecasting and quantification of disruptions. The project will further develop methods for designing and managing transport systems based on the Safe System Approach and combine the developed models into a Pan-European Platform.

Project progress

During the first year of the project, technical activities focused on delivering a comprehensive literature review and status‑quo mapping, developing a Standardised Impact Evaluation Framework (SIEF), carrying out data collection and manipulation, and developing the initial version of the sensing and monitoring solutions. In parallel, a detailed set of specifications was defined to support the development and validation of the Pan‑European Platform.

The project delivered a structured and comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge, practice, and societal implications related to transport-system resilience in the European Union. This  information was integrated into an open access document which integrates scientific literature with existing tools, technologies, and data environments, alongside an analysis of how disruptive changes affect different socio‑economic groups across the EU. For SCUDO, this work provides the analytical foundation for subsequent activities, ensuring that future monitoring tools, forecasting models, and strategic planning methodologies are grounded in existing knowledge, informed by operational realities, and responsive to the needs of vulnerable populations.

SCUDO has further developed a SIEF, together with the corresponding governance requirements and deployment constraints, for application across the project’s four Use Cases (UCs): Athens, Bavaria, Amsterdam, and Venice. The SIEF provides a shared reference framework for assessing the impacts of SCUDO’s modular solutions and the Pan‑European Platform, enabling both quantitative and qualitative comparisons across UCs as well as against baseline and business‑as‑usual scenarios. In doing so, it supports the robustness of impact assessment and facilitates the future transferability of the framework to other European regions and funding programmes.

Another major achievement of the first year of SCUDO implementation has been the establishment of the data and algorithmic foundations required for sensing and monitoring transport-system disruptions. This work included the identification of existing and opportunistic heterogeneous data sources, the development of a unified algorithmic framework to support data collection across SCUDO’s four UCs,  and the ongoing design of an Open Data Platform to host open‑access, GDPR‑compliant datasets aligned with the SIEF. Together, these activities delivered the essential data structures, analytical capabilities, and platform specifications that underpin subsequent project phases, enabling the development of forecasting tools and resilience‑enhancing strategies for transport systems across the European Union.

Moreover, in 2026, the SCUDO Pan-European Platform, aimed at enhancing the resilience, safety, and energy efficiency of transport systems across Europe integrating the project’s solutions into a cohesive and scalable system, progressed significantly with the development of a comprehensive design and implementation plan.

Presence at major events

Throughout the year, SCUDO maintained a strong presence at several high‑profile international events, showcasing project progress and fostering strategic dialogue on resilient and future‑ready transport systems.

The SCUDO project was presented by Dr. Eusebiu Catana, Project Coordinator from ERTICO–ITS Europe, at the Smart City Expo World Congress 2025, held on 4–5 November 2025 in Barcelona, Spain. The event convened policymakers, industry representatives, SMEs, and research and innovation (R&I) organisations to explore the future of cities.

On 18 November 2025, the Project Coordinator also participated in the High‑Level Debate on the Role of Abnormal Transport in Delivering the Green and Military Agenda of the EU, hosted at the European Parliament in Brussels. The event attracted a diverse audience of policymakers, businesses, SMEs, and R&I stakeholders. During a dedicated panel discussion, SCUDO was presented as a forward‑looking solution for addressing transport disruptions across Europe.

Further dissemination activities took place on 25–26 November 2025, when SCUDO was showcased at the Visions for Future Communications Summit – Challenges for 2030 and Beyond, held in Lisbon, Portugal. During the summit, Dr. Catana presented the project and contributed to a panel session.

Most recently, on 11 February 2026, Dr. Eusebiu Catana took the stage at the Data Spaces Symposium 2026 in Madrid, presenting on the topic Towards a European Mobility Data Space: Interoperability, Governance, and Compliance. In this context, where SCUDO was highlighted as a pioneering initiative in advanced mobility and data driven transport resilience.

Dr. Eusebiu Catana played a key role at the 17th ITS European Congress in Istanbul (April 27–29, 2026). He organized and led a special session on transport disruption, together with Florian Kietsch, from FENIX 2.0, where SCUDO was presented.

Dr. Eusebiu Catana also delivered a keynote address during the Transport Research Arena (TRA) 2026, that took place in Budapest, between 18 and 21 May 2026,titled “From Data to Action: Enabling Paperless and Smart Digital Enforcement Compliance in Transport & Logistics” drawing on lessons from EU-funded projects like SCUDO, BoostEDIC M&L and eFTI4ALL. Catana highlighted the critical need for overcoming system fragmentation across Europe by building a trusted, governed Transport & Logistics Data Space based on interoperability.

Looking ahead: Year 2 and Beyond

As SCUDO enters its second year, the project is set to reach several key milestones that will further strengthen its contribution to resilient and future‑proof transport systems across Europe.

A major focus will be the development of an advanced methodological framework for forecasting disruptive events, leveraging algorithms for the classification and prediction of transport disruptions. This work will enhance the ability of authorities and operators to anticipate risks and respond proactively.

In parallel, SCUDO will deliver a strategic‑level framework for the design of resilient transport networks. Grounded in the Safe System Approach, this framework will promote solutions that mitigate risk by strengthening multiple layers of protection.

The final version of SCUDO’s sensing and monitoring solutions will be deployed and tested in real‑world settings, bringing the project closer to its ambition of delivering real‑time, actionable data to support transport resilience decision‑making.

SCUDO will also advance the development of its Pan‑European Platform, integrating the project’s solutions into a cohesive and scalable system. A comprehensive blueprint will be produced to enable replication beyond the project’s original scope.

According to Dr. Eusebiu Catana, “disruption is not the obstacle to innovation – it is its catalyst. Our first year has demonstrated that collaboration, digitalisation, and a shared vision can transform challenges into lasting impact. In our second year, we will build on these achievements by scaling our solutions, strengthening our partnerships, and accelerating the digital transformation of the transport ecosystem. Together, we will continue to anticipate and overcome the disruptive challenges facing the transport sector, turning innovation into sustainable, real-world impact”.